Game apparatus



KONIKOFF AME APPARATUS Filed Jul ////4ZZ/Z/ZZZ/2?? ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 28, 1937 ePPARATUSJ i r Robert H.--Konikofi, Astoria, N. Y., assignor to at i 1 Schranze Bieber Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a rpl 't f NewJersef-T" r I w ere. #9 931. stee at: 1. 9 Glaims. (o1. zvs- -r) This invention relates to improvedapparatus l Ior playinga stick build-up gameof a typewhich is ordinarily played with a bottle and match sticks. Four match sticks are usually tucked into the mouth of the bottle in a manner to form a rack or cradle and then other match sticks-are stacked up in criss-cro s s arrangementupon the improvised rack Iuntil the stacktopplesfthe ob; ject being to build up the stack as highaspossible .1 0 without loss of a. stick from the pile or stackI Important objects of the present'invention are, to provide an apparatusdesigned to enable such a game to be played more conveniently, without improvisation of 'a rackfor the playing sticks; v

to'irnpartjint'o' the game a new element .o-fdifiiculty to givei zest to itj to facilitate the playing of the game by several contestants, with" clear distinction between the playing elements used y, t d fie ent l yer and to r i a tremely .simple andinexpensive appar tus for playing such a'gaine. I l

' Other-"objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is .a perspective View illustrating the employment of the apparatus in playing the game, the stacked-up playing sticks being indicated by dot and dash lines;

Fig. 2 a top plan view of the assembled rack unit of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 a vertical sectional view of the rack unit and the upper portion of the pedestal or teewhich supports said unit; and

Fig. 4 a view showing portions of the different sets of playing sticks provided for several con- 35 testants.

The game apparatus includes a rack'unit comprising a'base l and rack sticks 2 detachably supported by the base. The base is of'circular disk-like form and it has, in the present instance,

so a deep peripheral groove 3 reducing its weight.

.A numberof sockets '4 are formed in the base. In the present instance there are four sockets equally spaced in circular arrangement. They extend downward from the upper face of the 45 base'and open into the upper side of the groove 3. Theyare also obliquely disposed'so that theyconverge downward. The four sticks 2 have their lower end portions formed to fit frictionally into the sockets and bottom against the lower 50 side of the groove 3. Thereby they are firmly but detachably secured to: the base. The obliquity of the sockets disposes the sticks in upwardly diverging relation. As shown in Fig.

2 the sticks extend, in plan, materially beyond 55 the periphery of the base disk so'that the rack herihaiter.

as wilk wqie d 5 ra k " F "sup o e'the ped "tails "1 ."In

restricted area of ti i i r ide a e "reset n ta P i st the te. r I

"for the At'thjlg and do .enient t'o ej' it eemack base; 3 provided a yer ,c readily identify "14 only a few o'fth sticks of each set are shown. Actually there may be twohundred or more sticks in each set. Any desired or practicable number of sets may be employed.

In'playing the gamethe rack is first placed upon the tee in properly centered upright position. A player will then endeavor to stack up upon the rack, between the sticks 2, as many of the sticks 8'of his set as possible. If a stick should drop from the stack, or the stack become disarranged in'any way, the player will be disqualified and another player will carry on the build-up of the stack with the playing sticks of his particular set. Each player will take his turn until a player has played his entire set of sticks or until thestack collapses or the rack 40 upsets. The player then having the lowest number of sticks remaining in his set will bethe winner.

Owing to the form of the rack base I and the formof the upper 'end of the'tee the rack will be supported in'an unstable manner. The base may easily slip sidewise in any direction over the tee surface, and the convexity of the base will cause it to tilt slightly when such slippage occurs. Such displacements may be caused by building up'the stack off balance or' by jostling the rack in playing. The teetering movement of the rack adds to the difficulty of playing and gives zest to the game. Any displacement of the rack off center with respect to the tee reduces the stability of the rack and if the stack becomes too much oif balance the rack will topple from the tee.

All parts of the apparatus including the rack base I, the rack sticks 2, the tee 6 and the playing sticks 8 may be made inexpensively of wood and they can be packed in a small space. The bottle-shaped tee may be only four or five inches in height, the rack sticks 2 about four inches long and the playing sticks 8 about two inches long. For compact and safe packing the rack may be readily collapsed by pulling the sticks 2 from their sockets in the base.

What I claim is: V

1. Apparatus for playing a game in which playing elements are piled one upon another until the pile upsets, comprising a rack to provide support for the pile, and a tee to support said rack, the rack and tee having under and upper surfaces respectively formed with reference to each other to provide an unstable, teetering support for the rack on the tee and permit the rack to upset when the pile is built up off balance.

2. .A game apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the said upper surface of the tee is concave and the said under surface of the rack is convex, and said surfaces are cooperable to permit slipping of the rack sidewise upon the tee. i

3. A device for playing a stick build-up game of the type set forth, comprising a rack including a base and a plurality of spaced rack sticks borne by the base in circular arrangement and extending upwardly from the base and diverging upwardly to afford side support for a stack of playing sticks therebetween, the base being formed for unstable support of the device and stack to permit the device to teeter and upset when the stack is built up off balance.

4. A game device according to claim 3, characterized in that the base has sockets to receive the lower ends of the rack sticks and the latter are formed for frictional fitting in said sockets to secure the sticks detachably to the base.

5. A game device according to claim 3, characterized in that the base is of disk-like form and has a peripheral groove and sockets extending from the upper face of the base to one side of said groove, and the lower end portions of the rack sticks are formed to frictionally fit in said sockets and bottom against the opposite side of said groove, to secure the sticks detachably to the base.

6. Apparatus for playing a stick build-up game of the type set forth, including a tiltable rack unit comprising a base and a plurality of upwardly extending and outwardly diverging rack sticks borne by the base and held thereby at their lower ends in a fixed spaced relation to each other around a central area of the base to form side support for a. stack of playing sticks therebetween, and a tee to support said rack unit, said tee and the rack base being co-operable to provide unstable support for the rack unit permitting the latter to teeter and upset when the stack is built up off balance.

7. Game apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the under surface of the rack base for resting upon the tee is convex and the upper surface of the tee is concave, to permit sidewise slipping and tilting of the base in any direction on the tee.

8. Game apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the under surface of the rack base for resting upon the tee is convex and the upper surface of the tee is concave, to permit sidewise slipping and tilting of the base in any direction on the tee, and the area of said convex surface materially exceeds the area of said concave surface.

9. Game apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the tee is in the shape of a bottle formed at its upper end to support the base of the rack.

ROBERT H. KONIKOFF. 

